Daddy, There’s A Noise Outside

"Daddy, There's A Noise Outside" is an intimate, tender conversation between a family, inscribed on pages of a book; an echo of a dialogue from a home, an intersection between a father's heart and a child's curiosity.

The narrative captures a profound moment of awakening, shrouded in the nocturnal noises of protest. It tenderly unfolds within the familial cocoon of the kitchen and living room, between mouthfuls of breakfast and the pitter-patter of a morning routine.

The story features the characters of Brandon and Kim, parents attempting to illuminate the puzzling world of social unrest for their children, Cory and Samantha. The lens of childhood innocence narrows onto an event that unfolds beyond their window - a protest ignited by the police-induced demise of a young black boy in their community.

The book is an exploration of protest within the palm of a child's understanding. It uproots the complex issue from its bed of adult comprehension and replants it in the fertile ground of a first grader's curiosity. The seed of this book is an actual question, sprouted from the innocent enquiry of Kenneth Braswell's own son, probing the happenings in Baltimore in the aftermath of the Freddie Gray case.

As the pages turn, a lullaby of a father's voice, still echoing in the aftermath of midnight disturbances, patiently explicates the nature of protest. They traverse through a digital gallery of historical protests, from the grand tapestry of the 1963 March on Washington to the collective echo of the Million Man March. It gently plucks at the strings of their curiosity, eliciting questions and sparking discussions about the intricacies of expressing disagreement and advocating for change.

This is not a tale where fairies grant wishes; it is a narrative where parents grant understanding, where a family navigates the complicated terrain of societal change, guided by the North Star of parental wisdom. The profound questions raised by the children, such as, "Can kids protest?" and "How can we protest?" are answered with the sincerity and patience of parents who understand the gravity of the knowledge they are imparting.

In "Daddy, There's A Noise Outside", the familiar hum of the family routine reverberates with the rhythmic echo of an age-old struggle for justice. It is a book where the lines of a children's story, the pages of history, and the chords of parental love and wisdom intertwine. It is a guide, a conversation starter, and a gentle invitation to young minds to grasp the essential human spirit embedded in the act of protest.

The reader is not only left with an understanding of protest but a vivid picture of how it weaves into the human experience, how it exists as a spark in the face of darkness, and how it often illuminates a path towards change. It's a book that delivers a message not just to children but to anyone who has ever questioned the sound of dissent, the power of collective voices, or the strength found in unity against injustice.